One of the more surprising pairings of the week at the 2025 Dow Championships is the duo of Solheim Cup stars Jennifer Kupcho and Leona Maguire. They showed off their team golf prowess with a -10 60 in best ball format, following up their -3 round in two ball.
Kupcho and Maguire got started quick at -4 through five holes, which included an eagle from Maguire on their third hole. While Kupcho played well on her own ball, shooting -3, it was really Maguire who stole the show.
Maguire shot -2 on the front nine with a birdie, eagle and a bogey. She caught fire, particularly with the putter on the back nine, making six consecutive one putts to end the round, including a showstopper from long range on their second to last hole.
In total, Maguire birdied five holes on the back to shoot 63 on her own ball, that was comparable with almost any other team in the morning wave on best ball.
While the team up in and of itself was a shocker, the success shouldn’t be any surprise. Kupcho has thrived in this event in the past including a win alongside Lizette Salas. Maguire is known to also be fantastic in alternate formats, including these similar to the Solheim Cup.
The two have been playing golf against each other for some time. In the late 2010’s they were two of the faces of women’s college golf, playing for in-state rivals Duke and Wake Forest. They also played against each other in singles in their first Solheim Cup in 2021 and have faced off in a playoff at the Meijer in 2022. Leona is looking for her third-career victory while Kupcho is looking for her fifth and second of the year. They sit two ahead after the morning wave finished.
